The Best Medicine
by bassocontinuo
Summary: A virus is making its rounds around the Kamiya Dojo.  First Kenshin and then Kaoru falls ill, but things will be okay.  Sometimes an act of kindness is the very best medicine.
1. Chapter 1: Thank you, Miss Kaoru

Author's Note: I wrote the first half of this piece for one of the May writing challenges on the rk_challenge livejournal community and felt mused to write a companion piece to it which has not been posted online yet. So here are both pieces side-by-side. The original piece was written more in the style of manga Kenshin's style of speech, but it didn't feel quite right after adding the second half. Enjoy! And please leave a review if you have a time. Arigatou.

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the property of Nobuhiro Watsuki. I do not own these characters.

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><p><strong>The Best Medicine: Thank you, Miss Kaoru<br>**

Kaoru carried a tray of food and medical supplies to Kenshin's room. He lay on his side making use of the futon that he kept but rarely used. A wet and troubling cough rattled in his chest causing Kaoru to quicken her steps and nearly spill the contents of the tray.

Kenshin opened his eyes as she entered but didn't move otherwise to greet her.

"How are you feeling, Kenshin?" Kaoru asked and knelt beside him setting the tray on the floor.

"Better today, Miss Kaoru. There is no need to trouble yourself over me," he said and smiled weakly.

Kaoru rolled her eyes. "You are a terrible liar, Kenshin." She moved his bangs away from his face and placed her hand on his forehead to check his temperature. It was as she feared; he was burning up. She was glad she'd gone to Megumi's this morning after he first started being stubborn about the she fuss she was making over him. As Kenshin was not ordinarily stubborn, this confirmed that she had been right to worry.

Kenshin pulled away from Kaoru and looked very near to pouting. "It is just a cold. I will be fine in a day or two, that I will."

"Well this is _some_ cold you've managed to catch, Kenshin. I haven't seen you looking this bad off since Shishio got a hold of you. So just face it: you're going to start listening to me or I'm going to go get my bokken. Which way do you want to do this?"

Kenshin groaned and sat up. "Maybe you are right. It has been a while since I have been so ill - not since childhood. Please forgive my rudeness." Kenshin's hair was unbound and slick with sweat. "What would you like me to do, Miss Kaoru."

Kaoru picked up a small green ceramic bowl containing the miso soup that she'd prepared. "You can start by eating. You haven't eaten much in days. You need to eat to get your strength back."

Kenshin nodded and took the bowl from her hands, but he began to cough almost as soon as he had raised it to his lips. Kaoru couldn't be sure whether it was the cold or the cooking that gave him such trouble. He did eventually get through the meal, or most of it anyway - looking a little green at the end of it but at least there was some color in his skin again

"Thank you, Miss Kaoru"

Kaoru blushed. Only Kenshin had ever been grateful for her food. "Don't thank me yet. There's medicine you have to take next."

This time he definitely did pout; she was sure of it. "Wasn't the soup enough?" He asked, his eyes cross.

"Nope, not by half. I brought some tea for you to wash it down with which Yahiko prepared. I wouldn't make you suffer my culinary skills twice in one day."

"Thank you," Kenshin sighed with obvious relief.

Kaoru raised an eyebrow and frowned. "You're welcome, Kenshin," she said through gritted teeth and pushed the cup of tea at him. Did he half to act so happy about it?

Some of the tea spilled over the lip of the cup and burned her hand. In a panic she let the cup slip through her fingers, but Kenshin caught the cup without spilling a drop. Even sick, his reflexes were not at all affected.

She more gently prepared the powdered medicine and handed it to him on a folded piece of paper which he funneled into his mouth and washed down with the tea. His health was more important than her pride, she told herself. Kaoru knew her food sucked, but it still bothered her that Kenshin thought so little of her domesticity.

"What is next, Miss Kaoru?" Kenshin asked sitting patiently with his hands folded around the cup of tea which he held in his lap.

Kaoru reached over and took the cup from him. "There is nothing next," she said and picked up a damp cloth that she had brought in on the tray of food. "You need to rest." She scooted closer to him and motioned for him to lay down and rest his head in her lap.

Timidly Kenshin obeyed being a too fevered to object or over-think the familiarity of the moment. Kaoru gently stroked his forehead and face with the cool, damp towel. She could feel the contours of the cross-shaped scar through the linen and wished that she had medicine to make every pain of his go away.

"Thank you Kaoru," Kenshin mumbled mechanically, but the accidental omission of the honorific betrayed him. He drifted off to sleep promptly even before the medicine was given time to kick in.

"Shhh," she said soothingly, "you don't need to say anything more, Kenshin. It's all right now."

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><p>Author's Note: If you would like to read the original piece it can be found on the RK_challenge livejournal community as The Best Medicine.<p>

And maybe we'll see some of your writing for June's challenge? Yes? :p I do hope so because it's a great community.


	2. Chapter 2: Returning the Favor

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the property of Nobuhiro Watsuki. I do not own these characters.

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><p><strong>The Best Medicine: Returning the Favor<strong>

She was going to kill him. Definitely. She no longer cared what the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu said about revenge, Kaoru was going to have hers.

Of course, that was all dependent upon her body ever responding to her will again.

As soon as Kenshin recovered, his illness visited itself upon Kaoru three-fold. She could not move. She could barely breathe, and she burned with a high fever but was never allowed to cast off her blankets as per Megumi's orders. Meanwhile, Kenshin kept a watchful eye over here making sure that Megumi's instructions were followed to the letter. Kaoru was too sick to enjoy his attentions because whenever he checked in on her it was usually to give her more horrible tasting medicine or pile the blankets back onto her.

It was miserable being sick. Her room was closed up tighter than a jail to keep the cold out. It was dark, too hot, and she felt miserably alone. Of course sometimes she preferred being alone to the alternative, and speaking of the alternative...

The sound of his footsteps coming down the hallway filled her with dread. It was probably about time for more medicine or another lecture. She burrowed under the covers. Perhaps if he thought that she was asleep, he would let her be just a little longer.

Kenshin was humming and in good spirits as he entered her bedroom. "Oh good! You're awake, Miss Kaoru. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." She grumbled. She wasn't buying it. This sweet nurturing rurouni was all an act! She knew the truth now. Kenshin could be an absolute tyrant when he wanted to be - always bothering her about the blankets, and the windows, and the food that she wasn't eating. "But I wish you wouldn't use your Hiten Mitsurugi training on me. I can't hide anything from you."

"This has little to do with my abilities to read people. You are just a terrible liar, Miss Kaoru," he said flinging her words back in her face now that the tables were turned and she was the one who was sick.

"You will be in so much trouble when I am better, Kenshin! This is all your fault, you know."

Kenshin sighed and bowed his head. "I know and wish to make it up to you, Miss Kaoru since it was your kindness to me that resulted in this unfortunate situation, that it was."

Kaoru sat up and pitched the blankets aside. "Good. So you'll let me take a couple of cracks at you in the dojo as soon as I have my strength back. Right?"

"I shall polish your bokken myself, that I will, but in the meantime allow me to do something else for you. Since you have the strength to threaten me, you should be well enough to stand a bit of fresh air."

"Really? To get out of this blasted room would be the most wonderful thing in the world about now."

Kenshin nodded and picked up a thick blanket and wrapped it around her body. "Yes, but you've got to promise to behave by staying warm." He put his arm beneath her knee and lifted her up.

Kaoru squeaked and pressed herself into his chest. Cocooned as she was in the blanket, she could not use her arms to steady herself by wrapping them around his neck.

The ground outside was blanketed by a thin sheen of white first frost had come while she had been holed up in her room. The air was cool and refreshing to her fevered skin, but the cold air did not agree with her lungs. Kaoru started to cough but could not cover her mouth with her hands. "I'm so sorry, Kenshin. I'm going to get you sick again."

Kenshin set her down on the walkway looking out into the garden and sat down besides her. "I will be fine, that I will. I should have built up an immunity to it by now; however, as a precaution, Yahiko was sent to stay with Sanosuke for a few days."

"Uuuugh. He'll come back twice as incorrigible."

"Well you will just have to beat it out of him when your full strength returns, Miss Kaoru. I know that you'll be able to set him straight again. You are a great instructor that you are."

Kaoru flushed to receive such a compliment and felt a little bit of her old strength and pride stir. It felt good to be reminded that Kenshin thought highly over her in other ways - even if those ways weren't exactly womanly.

"Oh dear, it looks like your fever has returned, Miss Kaoru."

Kaoru quickly brought her hands up and covered her blushing cheeks. "No. I'm fine; I'm just embarrassed that's all."

"You shouldn't be embarrassed, Miss Kaoru; I meant that with all sincerity. Yahiko has become a very strong fighter that he has. You can be proud of your student, but not surprised.

"Oh really? Is that why you're so hopeless, Kenshin?" She teased. "With a man like Seijiro Hiko for your master, I'm surprised you're not more incorrigible than Sanousuke and Yahiko combined!"

Kenshin scratched the back of his head with a wide smile on his face. "Oro. You might be right about that, Miss Kaoru. Some days I'm surprised myself." Kenshin glanced north towards Kyoto, the place that held so many memories for him. "Although I do hope that my Master does not catch our cold because we sit here gossiping about him. That would be ill-karma indeed, that it would."

"It would serve him right!"

"You're still upset about Tanabata; aren't you, Miss Kaoru?" Kenshin's smile betrayed some nervousness. It had quite nearly come to blows between Hiko and Kaoru with Kenshin standing between them during the holiday.

"And why shouldn't I be! Six bottles! He drank all six by himself before I even had the chance to fetch them from the pantry. What kind of a guest drinks all of their host's sake before all the guests are served their first glass?"

"Well he does have a healthy appreciation for his sake."

"HEALTHY!" She fumed, but the world suddenly began to tilt and she fell into Kenshin's lap exhausted by her anger. "Oh! I'm so sorry, Kenshin!" But as she tried to rise he set his hand on top of her head.

"It's all right, Miss Kaoru. You need to rest, and this time I promise not to wake you."

Kaoru blushed lay her head back down. It was not difficult to fall asleep in Kenshin's lap. There were times when it was the most peaceful thing in the world just to be by his side.

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><p>Author's Note: I hope you've enjoyed this story as short as it was. Please leave a review if you have the time. And may this update find you all healthy and at peace. Arigatou!<p> 


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